Happy Friday and welcome to the Sprout. It’s National Vanilla Pudding Day. Umm…I think I’ll opt out and go for a strawberry daiquiri instead. After work, of course.

Here’s today’s agriculture news.

The Lead

New Brunswick farming groups are warning of serious shortfalls because of the government’s refusal to admit temporary foreign workers into the province.

A survey of 18 farms suggests that 2,000 acres on those properties will go unplanted this season, the National Farmers Union and other groups said at a joint news conference. The groups claim this would result in the loss of $7 million for those 18 farms.

“In order to ensure local food choices at affordable food prices, temporary foreign workers must be allowed to come to our province and work seasonally in primary agricultural production,” Lisa Ashworth, president of the Agricultural Alliance, said to reporters at the conference.

The news conference was held yesterday — the day after Premier Blaine Higgs indicated he might relent on the ban.

Higgs suggested Wednesday he would be open to loosening restrictions on some foreign workers after the number of New Brunswickers coming forward to fill those jobs was underwhelming.

“I said I wouldn’t let them go without employees and I meant that. I won’t,” Higgs said during a briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Four House committees and the special COVID-19 committee will meet today, including the House agriculture committee, which will hear from Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino. iPolitics reporter Rachel Emmanuel will be covering the hearing this afternoon.

In Canada

Canada’s food producers are urgently asking for more help from the government amid supply chain interruptions, labour shortages and mounting costs, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said in a release. New survey results reveal only 29 per cent of farmers say the federal emergency funding that was recently announced will be helpful for their agri-business.

“We are hearing heart-breaking stories about farmers having to plough down crops, destroy produce, or contemplate putting down their livestock due to reduced capacity at processing facilities or changes in market demand brought on by COVID-19,” said Marilyn Braun-Pollon, CFIB’s vice-president of Western Canada and agri-business, in the release. “The government needs to move fast and provide more support for the entire industry to protect Canada’s food supply.”

Canadian cattle famers were shocked to hear U.S. President Donald Trump say Americans should look at terminating trade deals that bring in cattle from other counties. The president later said that this would not impact allies, which added to the confusion. The majority of cattle imported into the U.S. are from Mexico and Canada, leaving some to speculate as to whether the president was changing his mind on the USMCA implementation, set for July 1. Real Agriculture has more.

Internationally

Australian Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has warned his country to “take a calm deep breath” amid an escalation of trade hostilities with China, as Beijing moves to shift its power plants’ AUD$14-billion reliance on Australian imports towards domestic coal.

Australian politicians and mining companies were scrambling to understand the seriousness behind reports that China’s National Development and Reform Commission has told five state-owned power plants not to buy thermal coal from Australia. The reports also state at least two shipments of Australian thermal coal purchased last week had since been cancelled, with other Chinese buyers planning to call off upcoming tenders, reported The Guardian.

Brazil could produce 10-20 per cent more climate-warming gases in 2020 due to deforestation and farming as compared to the most recent data from 2018, a new study said Thursday. The report by Brazil environmental advocacy group Climate Observatory reached that conclusion by analyzing current greenhouse gas emissions trajectories in sectors across the economy. However, globally, emissions of carbon dioxide, the most prevalent greenhouse gas, are expected to fall by 7 per cent this year as the world is paralyzed amid COVID-19 restrictions. This would be the largest single annual decrease in absolute emissions since the end of World War II, according to Reuters.